Tacita T-Race Electric Enduro: Tested at Morocco

Do you think we will ever see a HYBRID motorcycle? Makes sense doesn’t it? Half gas half electric? I think that would sell more if the industry came out with a hybrid version. Using electric power at certain speeds and gas to recharge the battery at higher speeds.

The problem with electric motorcycles has always been their limited autonomy and general performance. Tacita, an Italian factory, has built a brand new electric motorcycle that will bridge that gap – the T-Race.

Tacita had decided to test the T-Race in the hardest form of racing there is, the African Rally Raid. The Tacita race team competed at the Merzouga rally in Morocco November 3-9.

“We want to make sure we have a bike that will be reliable and can endure anything for our customers. Merzouga rally was a good opportunity for us to test our T-race. Our objective was to gather as much data as possible rather than results and it is mission accomplished” explains PierPaolo Rigo, co-founder of Tacita.

They asked the Canadian Patrick Trahan, a multiple Dakar (2000, 2001 and 2010) and rally pilot to be their rider for this occasion.

“I was much honored to test the T-Race. I feel like I am part of a new beginning. I have race many rally here in Merzouga, but it is the first time that I raced in silence. It was such a new experience for me; I realize that I could concentrate more on my riding. The T-Race performs like any rally bike and was very good to ride in the dunes,” says Trahan.

Trahan and Tacita team manage to make a lots of world premiere. They were the first electric enduro to start a rally raid race. They were the first electric motorcycle to traverse they entire Merzouga dunes and finally they are the first to have finish and actually win the NEW ENERGY category.

About the Tacita T-Race Electric Enduro Motorcycle

The Basis

The “Tacita project” ( from Tàcita, Latin name of the Roman goddess of silence ) springs from the desire to develop a motorbike which respects the environment and the people around us, yet being a true machine for real off-roading.

After 20 years of passion for both recreational and competitive enduro, our goal was to build the perfect electric enduro bike, which would be able to compete with traditional motorbike combustion engines, giving sensations of pure riding, yet being moved by a completely “zero-emission” electric engine.

Tacita was born in 2009, to produce a new enduro bike with electric propulsion performance, whilst being innovative and unique in its characteristics.

Since then, our effort has focused on research, engineering and design, to create an Italian bike with temperament, unique in its kind.

The result is the new “T-RACE”: passion, nature, strength, silence, respect, emotions.

Tacita T-Race – The New Standard

T-RACE is the first motorbike built step by step for Enduro riding, and for the pleasure of feeling as one with nature around us, yet its name also stands for the gentle “trace” left by the bike.

Aims: Zero emission, no noise, respecting the planet – along with ergonomics, high-tech features, long-range riding, and great fun; all packed in a “legal on+off-road” enduro bike. Satisfying these requirements was at the heart of the Tacita project.

For the first time, sharing the trail with other hikers or bikers without disturbing wildlife and without noise and pollution, has become reality.

“During the tests, we have always been approached by people with curiosity and admiration. Just a very soft sound announces the arrival of the motorbike – quite similar to that of an MBT bicycle!- which does not bother anyone, not even children. With the switch to its Eco map and trail-tyres, the motorbike does not damage or mark the ground”, explains Pier Paolo.

large autonomy with eco-friendly performance, around 100 kms of tracks travel in rally-race conditions.

excellent traction and throttle control on slippery trails, with extended “out of range” high-revs stamina performance in race conditions

torque power curves: Eco, Race, and Boost

Tacita T-Race – Autonomy and Handling

With more than 10 kW of maximum energy contained in the battery, T-RACE will provide a full day of cross-country with friends, even those who ride traditional combustion engine motorcycles.

With T-RACE, the electric enduro is no longer confined to town use, or enclosed bike-parks.
Lithium Polymers (Li-po) Accumulators technology, the most advanced technology available today for electric mobility, is contained in four high-strength aeronautical aluminum “tanks” (two front, two rear), which provide safety, shock protection and high heat-exchange, thus ensuring optimum cooling.

The energy tanks are positioned to achieve the perfect weight distribution, thus providing a highly effective low centre of gravity, resulting in agility and dynamic balance, under all conditions of use.

The “no-memory-effect” quality of the Li-Po batteries, along with a portable battery charger, (which can be placed in a small backpack) means you can “top up” the battery charge at any electrical 220v outlet.

Tacita T-Race – Eco Refill “T-Station”

Tacita can supply a trailer that works as a solar-energy charging station and storage cabinet. It can charge battery packs without using conventional electricity supplied by power plants.

In daylight , the solar-panelled roof over the trailer, “gullwings”-shaped to maximise exposure to solar input, converts light into electrical energy and stores new energy into the buffer batteries, usable at night or on rainy days to recharge the bike’s battery packs, independently and without generating emissions.

“The T-Race – combined with the T-STATION- is a direct and indirect zero-emission enduro bike”, points out Pierpaolo.

Tacita T-Race Specs:

Chassis/Suspension:

Anthropometric measures – T-RACE has been developed for sizes ranging from the 5th percentile (female) to the 95th (male): these dimensions fit 95% of the current population, taken as reference. When you get on T-race, driving position, general sizing, knee-bending angle and whole body position make you feel as if you had always been riding it.

Frame: Split single-beam, in Crome-molybdenum steel tubes 25NiCrMo4

Ground clearance: 353 mm

Front suspension: 300 mm, telescopic hydraulic fork with advanced axle upside down – with special surface hardening TIN treatment of the stanchions. Multivalve damping and spring for static load. Hydraulic damping in compression is given by a special valve located at the bottom of each stem, while damping occurs through the use of an internal cartridge on each stanchion. Each rod is provided with external adjusters to adjust compression and extension, and a screw for venting the inner sheath.

Engine brake: Regenerative braking system – to increase the range, by recharging the batteries.

Engine:

Electric motor: a 3-phase alternate current, brushless-type, asynchronous, with internal rotor cage. This type of engine has a very high yield, typically greater than 90% at the point of use, and it is maintenance-free, since there are neither sliding contacts, or other electrical parts subject to wear, nor mechanical parts that require lubrication

Cooling System: Liquid-type, with separate circuits for motor and inverter, to stabilize operating temperature and to allow minimum energy consumption and maximum power. The efficiency of electric motor and inverter are optimal when the operating temperature is constant between 40 and 60 degrees C° centigrade. Better cooling means greater range, consistent performance and optimal battery discharge.

Rated power: S1 8 kW

Peak power: S2 24 kW

Tacita T-Race Torque mappings: Eco: for the least impact on trails; Sport: for maximum driving pleasure; Boost: 60 seconds at full power for dunes or steep climbs

Tacita T-Race Transmission:

Change: multiple speed separate gearbox

Final Reduction: 13*49

Final Drive: 520 O-ring sealed chain

Tacita T-Race Power:

Traction battery: Li-Po rechargeable lithium-polymer battery. Li-po batteries are the most advanced technology available today for traction batteries. They have higher energy density (167 Wh/kg) and a lower weight than other batteries on the market (lead-acid batteries and lithium-iron-phosphate) and have no memory-effect. The batteries will last for the entire life cycle of the bike. After 2,000 charging cycles, (100,000 kms approx. under normal use), the battery packs with a residual capacity of 80%, can be used on the bike, or converted to static-energy storage (e.g. batteries for domestic stand-alone solar panels).

Number of charges: >2.000 cycles (discharge + recharge)

Maximum capacity: 10.6 kW

Charger: 1 Kw portable.

Optional: 3Kw fast battery charger, to be used in a fixed location. WARNING: For safety and warranty issues, you must recharge the battery exclusively with the original Tacita-approved charger.

Ecological recharge by T-Station: same operating modes of charging as via the 220V electrical mode.

For the first time, enduro enthusiasts can enjoy the freedom of riding a consistent zero-emission power tool, which can really broaden the range of offroad riding to a new level.

The T-Race can fill the gap between the riders’ wishes for performance and the true pleasure of safeguarding the precious planet we live in.

Italian Products

T-Race is built with accurate craft in Italy by a team of professionals, combining many years of experience and passion for motorcycling. Customers can interact directly with the project managers to order a tailor-fitted bike to suit their needs in terms of use as well as aesthetics. Each T-Race can be unique.

T-Wear

A professional line of dedicated clothing and accessories, fully developed with ergonomic criteria, active and passive safety, durability and comfort, is another plus; suits, helmets, caps, bags, travel accessories, etc. signed by Tacita and italian-made, following an ethical, eco-friendly approach to suit any needs.

T-Tours

What better way to experience how T-Race performs, if not to ride it in its elective place?
This is the purpose of the T-TOURS, starting March 2013; enduro and cross-country trails, through landscapes of great beauty: the Italian Maritime-Alps, Trentino, the Madonie mountains and Mount Etna in Sicily, or between the mountains and stunning seas of Sardinia. Unforgettable routes, great riding pleasure, enjoying scenic and awe-inspiring natural locations, having fun, and, last but not least, savoring the joys of Italian cuisine.

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2 Comments

I hope they do come out with a Hybrid, that is the one of the draw backs of elecrtic bikes so far is range. I was just reading about Zero motorcycles 2013 line of bikes, and they are increasing range every year. Also it would be nice if the price came down a bit too.